What is START?
START provides tailored, short-term support to coal+ regions across a wide array of transition topics. It assists efforts to decarbonise energy production and usage, diversify economic activities, and progress social development in regions and communities that are heavily affected by the transition away from fossil fuels.
START can help overcome shortcomings in local knowledge and capacities in areas such as: strategy development, governance, stakeholder consultation and engagement, community cohesion and resilience, and project identification and assessment. It can be used to fill knowledge or capacity gaps and to complement other technical assistance and capacity-building instruments.
Interested in applying for START? We will launch another round of applications for actors in coal+ regions to receive START technical assistance on 10 January 2024! This round of START will particularly welcome assignments related to local and regional aspects of energy transition, such as community-based renewable energy projects and energy communities, energy efficiency, development of capacity and governance mechanisms to support energy transition at sub-national levels, repurposing of local and regional assets to facilitate energy transition, etc.
What can START provide?
START provides tailored support to assist coal+ regions, sub-regions, and local communities in achieving a just transition away from fossil fuel-based activities. Support typically spans 50-100 “person days” delivered over 6-10 months.
START is a demand-led service tailored to the needs of recipients. It builds capacity across a wide array of topics, from developing a comprehensive transition strategy and pipeline of projects, to providing advice on specific topics like skills and employment, renewable energy, repurposing of brownfield sites, social development and inward investment. By way of illustration, START can provide support in areas such as (non-exhaustive list):
- analysis of regional challenges, opportunities, and priorities
- identification and dissemination of good-practice and lessons from comparable regions that are undergoing or have undergone similar transitions
- stakeholder consultations leading to a strong degree of involvement and ownership
- capacity building for regional and/or local administrations and/or civil society groups
- design of transparent, inclusive, and efficient governance and partnership processes
- formulation or enhancement of strategies for a just energy transition and economic diversification
- identification and prioritisation of transition-related projects and creation of project pipeline
- development of initial project fiches and related action plans (roadmaps)
- identification of financing opportunities for the pipeline of transition projects
- communications support to engage and inform stakeholders on the local energy transition process.
START achievements
START technical assistance delivered so far has covered a wide range of transition-related thematic areas and topics, notably including strategy development, governance, stakeholder consultation and engagement, community cohesion and resilience, and project identification and assessment.
Supported regions
Click through the fields below to access outputs and additional information about START support, which may help guide your own regions’ transition.
START provided support to the Government of the Principality of Asturias (Directorate-General of Energy, Mining and after-coal Development) and the Regional Energy Agency (FAEN) for the development of a regional energy transition strategy and for the identification and prioritisation of transition-related projects.
Documents and outcomes
START provided guidance, research and support to NGOs (Europe, a Patient and WOES) to facilitate co-operative and social economy development in communities affected by coal phase-out.
Documents and outcomes
- Downloadpolski
START provided research, advice and consultation assistance to the trade union, BDSZ, on green diversification and adaptation in Heves County to create jobs for workers affected by lignite phase-out, whilst considering support measures for older workers.
Documents and outcomes
START provided support to the Jiu Valley Partnership for Just Transition (representing the six territorial units of the Jiu Valley) for the identification, design, and development of priority transition projects, alongside assessing the accompanying governance and capacity development requirements for promotion and implementation of transition projects.
Documents and outcomes
- Downloadromână
START provided support to the Government of Karlovy Vary Region (Karlovarský kraj) and the Association for the development of the Microregion Sokolov – East. The support focussed on the following main thematic areas: employment opportunities and future skills needs; renewable energy supply and energy efficiency prospects; and viable approaches to sub-regional economic development and employment creation.
Documents and outcomes
START provided support to the Marshal Office of Małopolska Region and to various promoters of local transition projects to help develop demonstration transition projects in mining municipalities.
Documents and outcomes
- Downloadpolski
- Downloadpolski
- Downloadpolski
START provided support to the Just Transition Plan Technical Secretariat to assess opportunities to build on local assets to create a new economy in Megalopolis. Support focussed on: employment and skills; micro-entrepreneurship and start-ups; investment attraction and technology transfer; and governance and capacity-building.
Documents and outcomes
START provided support to the Midlands Regional Transition Team for the identification of transition projects and the planning and coordination of transition-related activities. The support focussed on: community consultation; transition project identification and assessment; employment opportunities and skills needs; and transition planning and monitoring.
Documents and outcomes
START provided support to the Marshal Office of Silesia Voivodeship for the development of a method (framework) for the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of options for the rehabilitation and repurposing of mining and other brownfield sites.
Documents and outcomes
- Downloadpolski
START returned to Silesia in 2023 to provide support to the Marshal's Office of the Silesian Voivodeship to strengthen their transition communication. This included conducting a survey to assess communication needs, reviewing the region's just transition website, and creating a Handbook that will enable the region to craft, implement and monitor a transition-specific communications strategy.
Documents and outcomes
START provided guidance and support to Offaly County Council and other local actors (including the newly Created Technology University of the Shannon) for the creation of a new partnership model to facilitate a Just Transition in communities affected by peat phase-out.
Documents and outcomes
These START recipients represent a diverse cross-section of regions and communities. They differ across features including resource type (hard coal, lignite, peat), socio-economic structure, industrial characteristics (mono-industrial and diversified) and geographic attributes (rural, urban, endowment of natural resources and assets). They are also at different stages of their transition processes. Such regional variety contributes to a rich exchange of transition lessons.
To ensure coordinated and integrated support to START regions, the Secretariat works closely with relevant European Commission partners, including the Directorates-General for Energy, Regional and Urban Policy, and for Structural Reform Support, as well as other providers of support, such as the World Bank.
Applications to receive START technical assistance will re-open soon!
The second call for applications to receive technical assistance to support just transition-related activities in coal+ regions closed in December 2022. The newest START recipients (based on that call) were announced in February 2023. A third call for applications will be launched in January 2024.
Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified as soon as the application documents are available.
Application process
Typical applicants are public administrations or civil society organisations. We particularly welcome applications from smaller regional actors, such as municipalities, groupings of municipalities, and civil society organisations that actively contribute to transition processes at regional, local, or community levels. This does not, however, preclude cooperation with national-level authorities or inclusion of other relevant regional and local actors as potential recipients of START support.
The application form and guidelines will be accessible on this webpage when a new application is opened. It is anticipated that this will be at the end of 2023.
Applications are evaluated by a panel of representatives of the European Commission and the Secretariat, under the leadership of the Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER). The final selection of applications to receive support and indicative allocation of resources to each applicant is made by European Commission Services.
The Secretariat will contact successful applicants to co-design a programme of technical assistance and capacity-building activities that is needs-based, demand-driven, and accompanied by a targeted workplan.